In an attempt to close holes in its new digital subscription paywall, the New York Times has asked Twitter to eliminate the @FreeNYTimes feed. When the NY Times announced their new digital offerings to be launched later this month, they set a 20 article limit on free content. Content accessed through links sent by friends, from other sites, or Twitter feeds do not count against the free limit. The NY Times cited a trademark violation, as the feed clearly used the iconic gothic scripted “T” associated with the newspaper in its icon, as well as the similarity between the feed’s name and the newspaper’s url NYTimes.com. The NY Times is also reported to be rewarding long-time paper subscribers with free digital subscriptions.

The Wall Street Journal is now offering morning issues of their daily newspaper for $1.99 through their iPad app. WSJ offers a monthly subscription to their web site and apps content for $18 per month.

[Mashable] [LoopInsight and Paid Content via MacStories]

Much ado was made about the addition of a gyroscope at the Apple keynote release of the iPad 2. Apple asserts that the integration of the gyroscope, compass and accelerometer will improve games, maps and other apps significantly. The demonstration app Gyroblox ($2.99, available for the iPhone 4) was used to demonstrate the new hardware. Users who have downloaded the “game” have been disappointed. To better experience the potential power of the gyroscope, gamers may be more interested the suggestions of MacLife, which lists seven games which better take advantage of the hardware new to the iPad 2. However, some of the iPad versions of the games have yet to be updated for the gyroscope. The list includes Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD ($6.99), Jenga HD ($.99), Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus ($6.99, iPod Touch/iPhone 4 version), N.O.V.A. 2 ($6.99 – again the iPod/iPhone 4 not HD version), Rage HD ($1.99),Real Racing 2 HD ($6.99) and Zen Bound 2 Universal ($2.99).

The gyroscope implementation has been troubled. Reports indicate the gyroscope is affected by surrounding movement, such as in cars. Additionally, users have reported difficulty in downloading apps from the App Store directly to their iPad 2Gs. The third-party apps don’t yet recognize the iPad 2 as a gyroscope-enabled device and refuse to download. The upcoming release of 4.3.1 is rumored to fix this issue.

Check out the video below to see the gyroscope in action with Real Racing 2 HD, played on the iPad 1G and 2G.

iPad 1G owners are being inundated by the inevitable question posed by new iPad 2G owners,”I just bought an iPad! What apps should I get?” Unless one is keenly familiar with the interests and needs of their friend, the query necessitates more discussion. Or one could just direct the eager tableteer to the app AppStart for the iPad (currently free in the App Store). The app was created by the team behind the website AppAdvice.com, an app-centric site with breaking news, reviews, lists of app bargains, guides and the like. The web site has a separate app (AppAdvice, $1.99 USD in the App Store) that culls content from the site.

AppStart for the iPad has iPad tips and app round-ups. Over fifty-five categories and interest areas are covered including those for artists, students, musicians, gamers, and non-gamers, apps for planning trips, shopping and utility apps. Broader subject areas such as ebooks, reference apps, browsers, rss apps, etc. are explored with a brief explanation and a list of several pertinent apps, some free and others not. The iPad tricks are as rudimentary as copy and paste to the more “advanced” option of activating gestures in iOS4.3.

Read on for more details and screenshots.

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iPhones and iPads are becoming essential items for the users today, who may need to go 16 hours non-stop and don’t have time to sit in one place long enough to charge their iDevices. For power users, power itself is a crucial and limiting commodity. Portable battery chargers are available, but they generally can only support one to two devices and provide a few charges at best. The i.Sound Portable Max backup battery by dreamGEAR can enable a user of an iPhone 4 to jump from seven hours of talk time on 3G to eighty-four hours, or get 30 hours of use for the iPad. It’s sleek, portable, and best of all, affordable.

Read on for my review of this potentially indispensable battery backup.

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Just before the iPad 2′s release, iPad 1G prices were slashed by $100, encouraging bargain hunters to buy out the stock of the older model iPads. AT&T has sweetened the deal further, offering the iPad 1G Wifi+3G 64 GB for $529, a whopping $300 savings (online only). The iPad 1G Wifi+3G 16GB is being sold for $429. The 32 GB model has already sold out. Purchasers must also sign up for a minimum two-year data plan of $14.99 per month for 250 MB (USD). Plans for 2 GB  cost $25 per month, with a promotion offering the first month free.

Considering the technology behind the iPad 1G is less than a year old, and by no means obsolete, and the difficulty some are having obtaining the iPad 2, it is a tempting offer. iPad users who bought the Wifi-only model may also be interested, as AT&T is starting to force jailbroken-tethering users to buy a monthly data plan. AT&T may be motivated to move their iPad 1G stock not only to make room for the iPad 2, but their Android tablet (announced last month but yet to appear), and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Then again, so many devices on an already strained network may not be appealing to users at even the discounted price.

[BGR] [Technolog]

The New York Times today revealed details of its digital subscription services. The plan is available today for Canadian subscribers and will be available worldwide beginning March 28th. The Canadian pre-release will act as a beta stage, so the digital experience may be “fine tuned” for the rest of the world. Canadians may sign up for the NYTimes.com + smartphone app option only at this time.

Home delivery subscribers (including daily, weekday, Weekender, etc.) and International Herald Tribune subscribers will continue to have free and unlimited access to NYTimes. com., as well as free use of smartphone and tablet apps. Readers who are not subscribers may create accounts and read up to 20 articles monthly, free of charge. This includes multimedia content such as slideshows and videos, and access to 100 Archived articles per month. Users of the NYTimes smartphone and tablet apps may peruse the Top News section free of charge, but all other sections will require a paid subscription. Articles accessed through links from Twitter, Facebook or other social media sites, or links from friends, will not count towards the 20 article limit. However, articles reached through search engines may have their own daily limits.

The digital subscription fee for smartphone apps will be $15 every four weeks (USD). The NYTimes for iPad app and other tablet apps will be $20 every four weeks. Users who wish to use apps (not just full access to NYTimes.com) on both devices must pay the full rate for both ($35 USD for four weeks). Subscriptions purchased through iTunes will be subject to the 30% Apple tax, and of course, no details were released to any concessions Apple may or may not have made regarding subscriber data. In the past, Apple has been steadfast in maintaining control of the data and in taking their standard 30% cut.

[NY Times]

The explosion of e-book readers has caused some to sound the death knell for local libraries. After all, why get in the car, drive down to the library, search the catalog and stacks(sometimes fruitlessly) and then make the trip again to return the tome when thousands of books can be accessed from one’s home? Without getting into an argument over the tactile experience of holding a physical book in one’s hands, a case can still be made for libraries. Not only do they offer valuable services, such as the free help of reference professionals, but they have been evolving to provide materials via the latest technology. Using such free apps as OverDrive Media Console, patrons can download ePubs or mp3 audiobooks to their Sony eReaders, iPads, laptops or smartphones (but not Kindles).

Unfortunately, some publishers are resisting providing their ebooks for unlimited use by libraries. Last week, HarperCollins instated a check-out limit on their e-books. Their publications may be downloaded twenty-six times before they expire from a library’s catalog. The move has prompted several libraries to boycott the publisher. HarperCollins’ position comes down to money. Unlimited free e-book downloads cuts into their profit margin. Unfortunately, libraries with dwindling budgets cannot afford to repeatedly purchase popular titles.

Read on for how to access library materials from your iPhone and for screenshots of some useful apps.

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Members of our own forums, as well as others around the web, are not thrilled with iOS 4.3. Engadget has posted a video showing some of the pixel problems. Other issues noted by viperGTS include poor performance of the Springboard, slow app updates and quitting of apps, the home button being unresponsive and poor music playback. Even more critical errors have occurred including the inability of iTunes to recognize the device, as well as the loss of mail, contacts and other personal data. One user reported being unable to even turn the device on, as the sleep and home buttons are no longer operational.

In any case, it would seem best to wait for an update before upgrading to iOS 4.3, or downgrading if you can (hope everyone backed up those blobs!).

[Engadget]

As discussed in our forums, the improved graphics of the iPad 2, as benchmarked by AnandTech, are impressive. But for those of us who may not know the difference between a textured triangle test and a texture fetch, the proof is in the pixels and performance.

TouchArcade is touting the improved look of Infinity Blade with a gallery of side-by-side pics (see a few after the jump). The game is more detailed, has better lighting effects and richer textures. Other developers for popular titles including Real Racing 2, Dead Space, Asphalt 6 HD have recently released updates of their games to take advantage of the new graphic capabilities of the iPad 2. 

For some, browsing is a more essential use for their iPad. TiPb has released a YouTube video that nicely demonstrates the improved Safari experience. For one, when switching between tabbed websites on the iPad 1, the pages reloaded upon re-opening. On the iPad 2, the pages just appear. The second difference is a lack of the checkerboard effect. When scrolling quickly on the iPad 2, there is no lag for the page and images to load. The checkerboard is no more. Also, from personal experience, the entering of text in forms, search boxes, logins, etc. is much faster. I have also tried Skyfire for the iPad on both machines and where it was barely usable on the iPad 1, due to lag and crashing, it is an enjoyable experience on the iPad 2.

Check after the jump for some of TouchArcade’s Infinity Blade pics, and click the image below to view the browser comparison video.

[AnandTech via MacRumors]

[Tipb via MacRumors]

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Whenever  a new iPhone user inevitably asked, “what case will offer the best protection for my iPhone?” the default answer had been Otterbox. They make a fantastic product that can hold up to much abuse. And for users prone to dropping their phones, leaving them on top of their cars when they pull out of the parking lot, or working in harsh environments, the Otterbox was the primary choice – until now. Griffin Technology has released their “ridiculously over-engineered” Survivor case. Made of military grade materials, and tested for such harsh conditions as vibrations, shock/drop, wind/rain and sand/dust, the Survivor case is body armor for your phone. But the protection wouldn’t be worth it if the case compromised functionality. Fortunately, because of its thoughtful design, the Survivor does not impede performance, but enhances it. And it works with both the AT&T or Verizon models.

Read on for my full review.

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